National liberalism

Greek banks have caved in to government pressure, freezing customer charges for a series of banking services, at least until the end of the year.

Changes will be introduced to the legislative framework governing the operation of the Greek Agricultural Insurance Organization (ELGA) to allow private companies access to the sector's insurance system, according to Agriculture and Food Minister Makis Voridis.

The new charges banks have imposed on most of their services customers' transactions will be discussed in a meeting of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis with the heads of the country's biggest banks on Thursday.

The new charges are an effort to offset the sector's losses from interest takings, which have been in constant decline over the last few years.

Having a stronger relationship with China is good for Greece, and their cooperation has set an example for European countries, according to Adonis Georgiadis, the Greek minister for development and investments.
Georgiadis said Chinese enterprises' investment in Piraeus port is a successful case of bilateral cooperation.

A bill aimed at introducing measures to stimulate growth in Greece was submitted in Parliament late on Wednesday and is to be debated from Friday, Development and Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis said on Thursday. 

The euphoria among Greek business circles after July's election is beginning to spread abroad, albeit slowly. However, it will take a systematic and coordinated effort to convince serious investors and funds to put their money on our country. Greece's bankruptcy and crisis are still very fresh in the minds of investors.

Farmers in Larissa, central Greece, are planning to roll out their tractors at the Platykambos junction of the Athens-Thessaloniki national road on Monday in protest at cotton prices, which they complain are too low for them to cover production costs.
The farmers are demanding a meeting with Agriculture and Food Minister Makis Voridis to discuss their grievances.

The auction of a primary residence belonging to a family affected by the 2018 deadly wildfire in Mati in eastern Attica, which on Wednesday sparked clashes between riot police and communist unionists, has been suspended following an intervention by Development and Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis, state-run Athens-Macedonia news agency (ANA-MPA) reports.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is putting the finishing touches to his scheduled speech on Saturday night at the Thessaloniki International Fair, where he is expected to announce a series of fresh tax cuts in line with pre-election promises and to underline the need for foreign investments to boost growth.

Development and Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis discussed Greece's growth plan for the economy and its effort to attract foreign investment with a US delegation led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Athens on Thursday.
Georgiadis and Ross were joined by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis who discussed developing bilateral trade ties.